Page 60 of Ignited Spirits
The last part is pure speculation, but I think it makes sense. I’m also not sure that thecuraewill be all that motivated by the destruction of Earth, so I’m trying to raise the stakes for them.
It works because the room erupts into shouts as everyone tries to talk over each other. I have the urge to cover my ears as the volume increases as tempers flare.
“Quiet!” Hades barks, instantly silencing the room. “Ask questions one at a time like the adults you’re supposed to be.”
It’s interesting how different Hades is in this setting than the other times I’ve seen him. He’s poised, well-spoken, and very put together, which is a change from the sarcastic, witty, and unhinged persona he usually wears. It makes me wonder which is the real him, and if either of them even is.
The first one to speak up is acurawith skin so pale she almost looks translucent. She brushes a strand of her light blue hair behind her pointed ear before turning her icy eyes on me. “How do you know this? And how do we know we can trust your information?”
That’s a fantastic question. I wouldn’t trust me either, but I don’t really know how to convince her.
While I flounder for a response, Levi chimes in, “You can trust the information because I was there to verify it. Along with Isabel and the rest of her mates, I engaged in a battle with Lua and have seen her on Earth on multiple occasions. Her power is much stronger than it was before she was imprisoned, and she told us some of her plans for the realms. You can trust Isabel because she is the one fated to take down LuaMater.”
Gasps and whispered words of disbelief sound throughout the room. I’m used to the lack of faith in my abilities, so it doesn’t bother me. It irritates my mates, who glare daggers around the room.
“According to who?” a dude with a massive pair of black, leathery wings asks from his spot in the middle of the table. He seems less accusatory than the previous people who have chimed in, but he still doesn’t look like he’s buying what I’m selling.
“Angerona,” Levi answers after a beat.
More surprised murmurs sound before a man with flaming red hair and bronze skin pipes up. “What does Angerona have to say about how to defeat her?”
“She’s unable to tell me much more than the basics about it.” My words are lined with frustration. “I have a compass necklace that helps me locate Lua and the knowledge that the fates believe in me for some unknown reason, and that’s it.”
I wish I had more to go on, but here we are.
“So what do you need our help with?” a short dude with red skin and twin horns protruding from his forehead asks. He crosses his arms over his barrel chest and narrows his beady eyes on me. “You’re the one who’s supposed to defeat her.”
I roll my eyes so hard it’s a wonder they don’t get stuck. “I’m aware. I’m also a twenty-one-year-old mage who just learned of the existence ofInfernuslike a month ago. I also just found out that I’m halfcura, Persephone is my great-grandma, and Hades is my brother-in-law. I’m not exactly who I would choose to save the entire universe, but the fates disagree, apparently. If I’m going to defeat Lua, I’m going to need help from people who actually have a clue. So how the fuck do I stop Lua from draining the Earth’s magic?”
My speech stuns the room into silence. I’m pretty sure it’s not thewow, she’s awesometype of silence. I’m guessing it’s more thewe’re all doomed if that’s who’s supposed to save uskind.
After a moment, thecuraeseem to recover. A willowy woman with delicate features and a flowing green dress asks, “Can you imprison her again?”
Levi shakes his head and answers before I can. “She’s too strong at this point. She has roughly doubled her magic from the last time she was captured and locked up.”
Gasps fill the air as Hades’s advisors start to realize just how completely and totally fucked we are.
A man dressed in a deep blue suit that matches his swirling navy eyes raises his hand like we’re in a kindergarten classroom. He waits for Hades to acknowledge him before he rasps in a voice that causes the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up, “What about killing her?”
I snort as I try to shake off the creepy vibes I got from him.
I would if I could, my dude.
“We tried. It didn’t work. As Leviathan said, she’s too strong.” It feels weird to use his full name, but I figured I might confuse thecuraeif I refer to him by his nickname.
I’m surprised when a woman with perfectly curled black hair—that’s so dark it almost looks purple—and kind brown eyes stands up as she waits for Hades’s permission to speak. “Have you thought about draining her before she can complete the spell to steal the planet’s magic?”
I blink her a few times before slowly shaking my head.
I have no clue why I didn’t think of that before because it’s a great idea. If Lua doesn’t have her magic, we can lock her up or even kill her. The only thing protecting her right now is the sheer amount of power she has. If we get rid of that, we get rid of the danger she poses.
“How do we do that?” I ask. She’s the only one of the advisors who hasn’t looked at me like I’m a bug they’re forced to share a room with, so she’s my current favorite.
She shrugs. “Perhaps the same way she does it, but I do not know. Draining magic is not an innatecuraability.”
Holding back the groan that wants to come out, I sigh instead. “She’s working with the mage council who helped her figure it out, so I guess we need to start there.”
Yippee. Another fight with the council. Just what I wanted after the shit show that was today.
